


Echoes of Pain

by cdreaiton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Age Regression/De-Aging, Child Abuse, Established Relationship, Feels, Kid Steve Rogers, Kid Tony Stark, Kidnapping, Rape Aftermath, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Slavery, runaways - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 17:58:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9134971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdreaiton/pseuds/cdreaiton
Summary: Steve and Tony drop off coms while invesitagting an alien ship. When the team finds them they've been regressed to four year olds. But the aliens have done more than just make the Avengers children. And now the rest of the team must pick up the pieces of their shattered teammates and help them heal while also trying to turn them back.





	1. The Problem

**Author's Note:**

> This is a dark, dark story. It will deal with severe abuse of children. It is not for the faint of heart. If these themes bother you, leave now. You have been warned.

"How did this happen?" Director Fury demands of the collected Avengers who are sitting around a conference table on the SHIELD hellicarrier.

"They were running recon on that strange alien ship that appeared out of nowhere, and their coms went dead. We ran in, got them, and ran out," Hawkeye explains, running a bleeding hand through his hair, "And _that_ wasn't easy, let me tell you."

Noticing that it's the archer's hand that is bleeding, Fury stops for a moment and gives him a stern look.

"Soon as we're done here, you better get yourself to medical Barton. Can't have you loosing a hand."

"I'm fine, Sir," Clint assures the director, wrapping a strip of his torn shirt around the four inch slice from the center of his palm to past his wrist, "It's superficial, and it's not my nock hand. It'll be fine. Hurrying might be nice though."

"Right. So, you retrieved them. Were they in this condition when you found them?"

The four remaining members of the team nod solemnly. The fight to get Steve and Tony back had been brutal, and when they'd finally found them, they'd had to leave in such a hurry they hadn't had time to analyze any of the tech that had... changed their friends.

Fury looks down at the two sleeping Avengers resting on a couch in the corner. They are wrapped tightly in standard issue SHIELD blankets, their tiny fuzzy heads sticking out of the huge blankets that are engulfing them. When the rest of the Avengers had found them, both Tony and Steve had been shrunk, at least that's what they thought at first. But upon closer inspection they learned that their teammates had been regressed. To approximately the age of four.

Natasha leans over and uncharacteristically brushes a stray lock of brown hair from the sleeping Tony's face. She cups his face gently, a look of concern in her eyes, which startles the rest of the team at seeing something so maternal on her usually stoic and unreadable features.

"They didn't recognize us when they saw us, so we're assuming their adult memories are gone," Bruce explains, pulling the group's attention to him, "But they also didn't fight us either. And they clung to each other the entire trip here. They wouldn't talk, and fell asleep rather quickly once the jet was in the air, so we didn't get much information out of them. Didn't get _any_ information actually."

"Were they injured in any way?" Fury's outward demeanor seems unruffled by the information that two of his top fighters have been turned into little children, but the entire rest of the team can tell he's worried. They all are.

"They’ve got several fading bruises and a few fresh ones," Bruce reports, pulling his own blanket tighter around his shoulders, "But I can’t tell if those are from their adult selves, or if something happened to them. Although the fading ones leave me to believe they're from their adult selves. It only took us forty five minutes or so to reach them and bruises don’t fade that fast. The newer ones might be fresh though. I’ll run a full work up when we get them back to the mansion. Steve’s been favoring one of his arms, and I’m worried it might be fractured. I think their powers are gone. I took a blood sample just to be on the safe side though. Steve's small for his age, which probably means I won't find the serum in his blood, and Tony's intelligence might still be intact, but his reactor is missing. Although, considering how much trouble it gives the adult version, I have to admit I'm glad of its absence. We don't need two children with breathing problems."

"Two? What breathing problems?" Fury demands.

"Steve's asthmatic," Clint answers before Bruce can, smirking a little, "Didn't you read his file?"

Fury glares at Clint, but it doesn't do much good since it's the same look he has no matter what the situation. Opting to simply ignore the archer instead of say something, Fury turns back to Banner.

"For now, take them back to the mansion. Try and see if you can get any information out of them, see what they remember. I'll call Strange and Xavier, probably Richards too, see if they can help us shed any light on the situation and help us deal with that ship.”

"I'll do some work on it too," Bruce says, his voice daring Fury to argue with him, "They're my friends."

With a nod, Fury takes one last look at the sleeping children and heads back to the bridge, trusting that the Avengers can find their way out. Silently, Bruce picks up Tony and Natasha carries Steve back to the jet. Clint gets them in the air quickly, pushing the limits of the small craft's capabilities to get them home as fast as possible.

The flight is short, but quiet. No one knows what to say or do about what's happened. When they arrive home less than a half hour later, Thor is the first one to speak.

"I feel I must apologize to all of you."

Everyone looks up from their seat on the plane, stopping in the middle of removing their seat belts to stare up at him.

"If I had arrived sooner, or gone with them as requested..." There is pain in Thor's voice, as though he is holding back the strength of his emotion.

Natasha lays a hand on his arm.

"You couldn't have known. And you were right not to go. A two man recon team is much safer than three. And just because you're not from this world doesn't mean you can instantly identify ships or beings from others. Keeping you back with Banner was the smart play," she assures him, squeezing his arm gently, "Given the same situation again, I know I would make the same call. So would Steve. And honestly, Tony only asked you to go because alien cultures scare him. They have since New York. You didn't do anything wrong, Thor. This isn't your fault."

Thor places a hand on top of Natasha's where it rests on his arm, and squeezes it gently in thanks. He reaches out his hands, and Natasha gently hands him the sleeping Steve. They walk into the house, securing the jet in its home in the garage.

By silent agreement, they convene in the living room, with Clint and Natasha each ending up holding one of their sleeping comrades. Gently, more gently than anyone in the room has ever seen her be, Natasha tries to wake the sleeping Tony that's ended up on her lap. She carefully jiggles his shoulder, speaking his name in increasingly louder tones, though she never gets anywhere close to yelling. Finally, after several tries, he stirs and opens his eyes. His big brown eyes stare up at her for a moment, then he finishes waking up and really sees her. He pulls into himself, mouth forming into a tight line.

“Hey there, Tony,” Natasha says gently, helping him sit up on her lap, “We’re home now. Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”

The boy in her lap quickly shakes his head, a small look of fear flashing behind his eyes. He glances over to the still sleeping Steve who is resting in Clint’s lap. Hawkeye smiles gently at him, and shifts Steve a little so Tony can see his face.

It had come as no great shock when several weeks previously the Captain had announced over dinner one evening that he and Tony were dating. There had been some good natured teasing, a few off-color jokes from Clint, but then the team had simply accepted it and moved on. So it makes sense that Tony would want to check on Steve, and it gives the team hope that some of their adult memories might still remain, if dormant. That hope is short lived.

“Are you our new trainers?” Tony asks in a small voice, barely audible.

The room is in a silent shock for several long moments while the team tries to process the bizarre question. Natasha recovers first, brushing a lock of hair from Tony’s face and causing him to flinch, which shocks her and she quickly pulls her hand away.

“No, sweetheart. We’re your family. We saved you from the bad guys and brought you home. Do you know who we are?”

Tony barely shakes his head, looking around the room in fear. The look breaks everyone’s heart, and they all want nothing more than to hold him close and tell him everything will be alright. But they had seen the flinch when Tasha had tried to touch him, and there is still the strange question roaming around in the backs of their minds, so they smile as kindly as they can at the scared little boy.

Steve stirs before they can introduce themselves, and he immediately shrinks back into himself at the sight of Clint holding him. He looks over at Tony and they exchange a look that none of the adults understand, and the fear vanishes from their faces. Confused, Clint looks down at Steve.

“Hey there, bud. Would you like to go sit by Tony?”

Steve and Tony share another look, then Steve nods once. Clint stands and goes to the couch where Natasha is sitting, and places Steve on the seat next to her. Immediately, a hand snakes out of Tony’s blanket and grips Steve’s tightly.

“Steve, we were just telling Tony that we’re your family. We saved you and brought you home. Do you understand?” Natasha asks quietly of the blond haired boy.

“Yes, ma’am,” comes the even quieter response, though he doesn’t meet her eyes.

“My name is Natasha. The man who was holding you is Clint. The big blond guy is Thor, and the other man in that chair over there is Bruce.” Natasha points to each person in turn, watching the boys for any sign of recognition. There’s none.

“And you aren’t our trainers?” Tony asks again, getting nods of negation in answer, “Are you our owners? Is that why you gave us new names?”

Natasha feels her blood run cold at the question. Ice fills her veins, and fear and pain break her heart. She quickly glances around the room and sees the same reaction from all the others. With as much calm as she can muster, which isn’t as much as she normally has, she turns Tony to face her.

“No one owns you, sweetheart. Why do you think that?”

Tony shrinks a little further into himself at the question, and searches her face, as though looking for the trick. It’s a very disconcerting look from such a young face.

“Our trainers said we had to be trained to be good before they could sell us to our new owners. They said our parents didn’t want us any more because we were bad. Bad children are only good as slaves.”

Tony’s explanation sends a shockwave through the room, with Thor tightly gripping the arms of the chair he’s sitting in, denting them, and Bruce clenching his fists so tightly they turn white, his skin starting to turn green. Clint gives Natasha a hopeless look, which she returns.

“Tony,” Clint asks cautiously, “How long were you with those trainers?”

Tony bows his head in shame.

“Only forty seven days. We’re not very good yet,” his head jerks up suddenly and he looks at Clint earnestly, “But we’ll try really hard, I promise! We learn really fast! And my brother is working really hard on not coughing so much. He’s getting better! We’ll be really good and do everything you say!”

A silent tear rolls down Clint’s cheek as Tony speaks. Suddenly, everything starts to make horrifying, terrible sense. From the moment Tony and Steve had gone offline, it had taken the rest of the team exactly forty seven minutes to find them. But what had been minutes for them, had been days to the small children trapped within. Clint places a hand gently on the side of Tony’s face, the resulting flinch piercing his heart as he whispers,

“I am so sorry.”

***

The two boys are heartbreakingly obedient as Bruce takes them down to his lab to look them over. They quietly take off their clothes and sit on the table, sitting close, but no longer holding hands. They are covered in bruises, some old and faded, others that seem to be only hours old. An x-ray shows that Steve's arm is fractured, but thankfully not broken, so Bruce puts it in a small brace to keep it stable while it heals.

Natasha stays in the room the entire time they're being examined, as the boys seem more nervous around the men than around her. Clint tries to stay and be supportive, but finds himself unable to watch the cataloguing of their injuries and goes down to the range to shoot until he's exhausted.

Once the exam is finished and Steve has been given an inhaler, instructed in its use, and promised to use it whenever he has a hard time breathing, and to notify them if the problem gets worse, Natasha takes them upstairs and sets them on the couch, turning on a movie. They try to protest, insisting that they can still be helpful, that the injuries won't damage their usefulness, so Natasha ends up having to give them strict orders to stay on the couch and rest for a while. For the first time in a very long time, she fights back tears as she walks away from the scene on the couch. Stepping into the next room, she pulls out her phone and dials Fury's number.

"Romanoff, how are they...?"

"Get everyone out of that ship right now. There's some kind of time warp in there. Minutes out here are days in there. Tony and Steve think they were gone for forty seven days, not minutes. And the aliens on that ship did... horrible things to them," Natasha says before Fury can even finish asking his question.

"Hill, pull our people out of that ship immediately. Set up a biohazard zone around it. No one in or out," Fury orders without any further questioning. He trusts Natasha and the tone in her voice worries him. "What happened to them, Romanoff?"

"Whoever those aliens were, they were some kind of galactic slave traders. Call Quill. Have his team start working on finding these bastards and hunting them down. They must have some kind of tech that de-ages the people they capture."

"How bad are we looking at?"

Natasha takes a deep breath and lets it out very slowly, trying to calm her frazzled nerves.

"It's bad. Really bad. And I don't think we know the half of it yet. We've got to find a way to turn them back, and soon. And then pray they don't remember any of this," she answers, repressed tears threatening to spill.

"I'll call Strange and Richards," Fury assures her, and she can tell he's upset despite his best attempts to hide it, "You and the rest of the team focus on caring for those boys. Xavier's people can handle the rest for now. You need anything, you call. Have JARVIS send lists of things you need. I'll have them delivered. Keep me updated if anything changes."

He hangs up the phone abruptly, but Natasha is used to his mannerisms and it doesn't phase her. She goes back into the living room and finds Tony and Steve sleeping peacefully, curled up around each other.

"JARVIS. Page the team. Tell them to meet me in the gym," she requests of the AI.

"Right away ma'am. However, I feel I should warn you, Dr. Banner's heart rate is quite elevated. Should I prepare counter measures incase of an incident?"

"Thank you, JARVIS. Have Thor bring Mjolnir just incase. How's Clint?"

"His heart rate is also elevated, and he has missed twelve of his intended shots due to tears clouding his vision. I have sealed the drawer with the explosive arrowheads, just to be safe."

"Good idea. JARVIS, we need clothes and toys for the boys. And anything else you can think of that might help us... deal with this," she waves her hands vaguely in the direction of the living room and the problems associated with trying to help two abused boys. Let alone two abused boys who used to be their friends.

"I shall research current theories and provide the necessary items and literature to all your inboxes by tomorrow morning. Do you think they would prefer separate beds or a bunk bed?"

***

"Forty seven days! Do you know what kind of damage you can do to a person, let alone a child in forty seven days?!" Clint practically screams at the collected team, eyes ringed with red, "I've been in this business a long time, and the longest it's taken me to break someone was ten, and that was a high level operative trained to withstand torture."

Natasha lays a calming hand on Clint's arm and he takes several short but deep breaths, trying to rein in his temper.

"What do we do now? How do we handle this while SHIELD works on a way to turn them back?" Bruce asks, staring down at his feet, mouth set in a firm line.

"Something Tony said gave me an idea. They think, or were told, that they were bad children so their parents gave them away. Sold them. What if we become their new family?" Tasha says, taking a seat on one of the weight benches and pulling Clint down to sit next to her.

"Are we not already their family, if not their blood?" Thor asks, confused by her statement.

"We are, but that's not what I mean. We adopt them so to speak. Treat them like we would if they were our own kids. Try to undo the damage the aliens did." She turns and looks at Bruce meaningfully. "I think you should join Richards and Strange on the hellicarrier. You're a ticking time bomb down here. Go and help them find a way to turn them back. We'll handle taking care of them in the mean time."

Bruce thinks for barely a minute before he nods in agreement of her assessment.

"You're right. I'll be more useful up there anyway, and SHIELD has a way to deal with the Other Guy if I lose my cool. Which I've been on the verge of doing since Tony woke up and we figured out what happened."

"We'll keep you apprised of how things are going down here, and if we get any new information from them," Natasha promises.

With a brief word of farewell to everyone, Bruce leaves and heads for the jet. Once he's gone, Thor takes a seat on the floor, setting Mjolnir to the side and looking at his remaining two teammates.

"How do we proceed?"

"With a lot of caution and kindness," Tasha informs both him and Clint, "JARVIS is sending us some literature to look over about dealing with traumatized and abused children. But I do know we should keep our voices down, stick to soft inside voices, even... _especially_ when they do something wrong. We probably shouldn't try and touch them very much for a few days. Let them come to us. Tell them they are very good, praise them when they do pretty much anything, and tell them we love them constantly," she turns to Clint, "Anything I missed?"

He sighs and runs a hand through his already messy hair.

"Make sure they're eating. Food might have been used against them or withheld, so we need to make sure they actually eat the food we give them," he offers, eyes dark with repressed memories of his own past, "They'll likely horde it, put anything and everything into their pockets to eat later when they're alone. They might steal food from the kitchen if they think they can get away with it. But if we catch them doing it, they'll expect a hefty punishment. And if we leave it out and tell them to help themselves, they'll likely assume it's a trap and they'll never touch it."

"JARVIS, do we have enough space in the locker rooms to store all our weapons?" Natasha asks the AI softly, earning a strange look from both Clint and Thor.

"There is plenty of storage space in the archery range, ma'am. Shall I seal away all weapons currently stored?" JARVIS asks in anticipation of her motives.

"Yes. We can't have any weapons out where they can see or get to them. I don't want them to think we intend to use them as punishment, or to try and use any of them against us."

"Agreed." Thor and Clint say simultaneously,

Thor lays a hand on Mjolnir and his eyes turn even sadder.

"I shall place my hammer in the locked vault in my room. It may be best to place the good Captain's shield there as well."

"Good idea. And if there's an emergency, Mjolnir can just rip through the vault anyway," Tasha reassures Thor with a smile, "JARVIS..."

"I have already sealed away Mr. Stark's suits, and the door to his lab has been sealed and hidden as well. I do not believe either child will be able to find them."

Natasha raises an eyebrow, impressed at the AI's efficiency and calm reactions to what's happened to his creator, but she supposes that's one of the benefits of having an emotionless artificial intelligence as a sidekick.

"Thank you JARVIS. Clint, you're in charge of getting all the weapons out of the house and down to your range. And by all, I mean _all_. No knives, no spare arrowheads lying around, nothing. Pull them out of every room, including all the bedrooms. I'll empty my room," she holds up a hand to stop his protest, "I don't want to sleep unarmed anymore than you do, but we have to be safe with this. This house has one of the best protection systems on the planet. If something gets through JARVIS, the weapons in our rooms wouldn't do us any good anyway."

"Fine," Clint agrees quite a bit reluctantly, "You want all the knives out of the kitchen too?"

***

Once they've finished talking and deciding how to handle their small teammates, and compromised on putting the kitchen knives in a locked cupboard, Thor decides it's time for some dinner and they head out into the living room. Tony and Steve are no longer asleep, but are instead kneeling next to one of the arm chairs with their hands folded in their laps, eyes staring fixedly at the ground. All three adults stare at the two of them for a few moments before Natasha clears her throat and kneels next to them.

"Hey there. What are you two doing?"

"We rested as ordered until our allotted sleep time was over. We're waiting for our next order," Tony explains, eyes barely flicking up to meet hers worriedly, "We weren't sure where you wanted us to wait, so we chose Master Thor's chair. We apologize for making the decision on our own. It was incredibly ungrateful of us," both boys stand and place their feet shoulder width apart and clasp their hands behind their backs, "We are ready for our punishment now."

Natasha closes her eyes against the anger swelling inside of her, and feels the air shift as Clint turns and leaves the room, unable to handle the situation. She understands how he feels. She's been hoping against hope that she'll wake up soon and this nightmare will be over.

She knows it isn't cowardice that's made him leave. He's stared down the barrel of a gun more times than anyone can count, and she's personally witnessed him being tortured for days on end without the slightest sign of breaking. But this is different. This is Steve and Tony who were taken and made small and innocent again... then had that innocence ripped away from them with such brutality it makes her want to either break down in tears or find the people responsible and slice off their skin piece by piece.

Once she's collected herself, she opens her eyes and puts a gentle hand on each boy's shoulder, causing them to look up at her.

"You're not going to be punished. We don't punish people in this house. You didn't do anything wrong. You can both sit where ever you like. JARVIS is the computer that runs this house, and has a huge collection of movies to watch, all you need to do is ask him to turn one on for you. We're having some toys sent over for you to play with," she tucks a hand under each chin and lifts until they are looking her in the eyes, "You aren't our slaves. Do you understand? You're a part of our family now. And we will never let those monsters hurt you ever again."

She pulls both boys into a hug, clutching them tightly despite the way their bodies stiffen in her arms. They don't hug her back, but after a few seconds they relax slightly, accepting the contact. She smiles slightly to herself. She knows they've still got a long way to go, and that there will be far more unsettling scenes to come, but she thinks of the confused look on Steve's face when someone makes a pop culture reference he doesn't understand, and the way Tony's eyes light up when he has a new idea for his suit, and she makes a silent promise that she will do whatever it takes to get her friends back, whole and complete.


	2. Signs of Abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned in the beginning, but I'm warning you again. This story is dark and deals with the severe abuse of children. There is assault in this chapter. You have been warned.

JARVIS, true to form, sends a list of necessities to SHIELD and the items are delivered later that day. Clint and Thor set up the bunk beds in one of the guest rooms while Natasha lays out the toys in the living room and shows them to the boys. Tony is intrigued and excited by the legos, and Steve can't take his eyes away from the art supplies, but neither boy will touch them.

"They're for you to play with. You can use them any time you want," Natasha informs them, trying to hand a sketchbook and set of colored pencils to Steve.

Steve takes the sketchbook and pencils and sets them on the floor next to him. A single tear runs down his face and he looks up at Natasha. He wipes it away quickly, but she still sees it.

"No thank you," he says quietly.

"Would you prefer something different?" Natasha asks softly, "I can have JARVIS order anything you'd like."

"We know our place Mistress Natasha," Tony responds, taking the sketchbook and pencils and setting them on top of the unopened boxes of legos, "We know slaves aren't allowed to play. Thank you for testing us and reminding us of our position in the household. We are ready to work now if you'll show us what needs done."

The Red Room trained Natasha to be emotionless, to deal with every situation with the same impartial cool resolve. But the more she finds out about what Tony and Steve were 'trained' to do and be, the more her own training fails her. Tamping down firmly on her tears, she picks up the toys and sets them in front of the two boys.

"Tony. Steve. I've told you before. You aren't slaves. I'm not your Mistress, and the others aren't your Masters. We're your family. And you don't have to play with the toys if you don't want to, but they're yours to play with if you do. Would you rather watch another movie? Maybe go outside and play in the yard? It's a nice day out."

They don't respond to her offers, simply continue sitting in their kneeling 'waiting' position, staring at the floor. She sighs soundlessly and gently places a hand on each of their heads.

"Why don't you two sit on the couch and I'll have JARVIS start a movie for you. I'm going to go check on Clint and Thor. They're setting up your bedroom."

They nod and obediently go and kneel in front of the couch facing the television. JARVIS immediately starts up "Meet the Robinson's" and Natasha is pleased with the choice. She doesn't try and convince them to actually sit on the couch, that's a battle for a later day. Knowing they'll stay where they are, she heads to the guest room.

She smiles when she enters and sees her two friends at work. Thor is holding up the entire frame work while Clint goes around and nails the pieces together.

"I still believe I should be the one wielding the hammer, friend Clint," Thor insists, looking a bit put out.

"The point of this hammer is to gently combine two pieces of wood so they don't fall apart, not smash the bed into tiny pieces Thor. Besides, you're stronger so it makes more sense for you to hold the frame up instead of me," Clint counters, grunting slightly as he hammers in another nail.

"They're watching a movie, sort of," Natasha says, going up to Clint and placing a hand on his shoulder, "But I couldn't convince them to play with the toys. I think that's going to take a bit longer."

"Do they still believe they are our slaves?" Thor asks in a quiet voice.

"Yes. No progress on that front. But we knew this was going to take time."

Clint finishes with the last nail and sets down the hammer. He leans his forehead against the frame and takes a deep breath.

"Any word from Bruce?"

"Not yet," Natasha answers a bit forlornly, "But he'll call as soon as he knows anything. Why don't we go watch the movie with them, try and bond with them a little."

The two men nod their agreement and quickly situate the mattresses. Natasha helps them with the sheets and blankets, then they go into the living room. As they walk down the hallway, they hear a soft smacking sound. They quicken their pace, but stop dead in their tracks as soon as they enter the room.

Tony is holding one of the wooden spoons from the kitchen and is hitting Steve's bare behind, while Steve leans against the arm of the couch his pants around his ankles. Natasha quickly darts to Tony and grabs his wrist before he can land another strike, and Clint sprints to Steve, pulling him away from the couch and helping him pull his pants back up. They are both so shocked at what's happened that neither of them can say a word. Thor, noticing this, kneels in front of the surprised boys and gently takes the spoon from Tony's hand.

"Tony, little one, why were you striking your brother?" He keeps his tone soft and calm, not wishing to frighten either boy.

Natasha releases Tony's wrist and he hugs his arms to his chest, fear written plainly on his face. He can't meet Thor's eyes as he replies.

"We're terribly sorry Master Thor. We knew we should have waited for you to come and administer the punishment, but we didn't think it right to disturb you, and our trainers made sure we knew how to punish each other if we disobeyed when there wasn't a Master around. We didn't know where you kept the punishing equipment, so I used one of the spoons from the kitchen."

"Tony..." Natasha starts, but Tony cuts her off.

"Not only did my brother have a fit, but I stole something that belonged to you and then used it to punish my brother without permission. We are still adjusting to the rules of your household, though that is no excuse for such a transgression. We ask you to punish us that we may learn to serve you better in the future."

Clint puts a hand under Steve's chin and lifts his face until their eyes meet.

"Did you have an asthma attack?" Clint asks, receiving a small nod in answer, "Did you take your inhaler?" Another nod. "That's very good, Steve." He pulls the boy in for a hug and pets his hair softly.

"Tony," Natasha starts, going around the boy to kneel in front of him with Thor, "I know those trainers punished you for everything, but they were bad men. Steve has a sickness. He can't control it and he needs to be treated, not punished. You can come and interrupt us any time. Even if you just want to say hello. You _are not_ our slaves."

Tony looks at her for a moment, sadness in his face and tears in his eyes.

"Are we no good? Do you not want us?"

The question tears at their hearts and Clint pulls Steve a little closer. Natasha lays a hand on the side of Tony's face.

"Of course we want you. We will always want you. You're a part of this family. Why would you think that?"

"Because you haven't given us any orders," Tony explains quietly, a tear rolling down his face, "I know we're little and we don't have much training, but we'll try really hard and we can do a lot of things. Are you going to sell us? Is that why you're being nice? To test our training?"

"No, Tony. We are not going to sell you. Ever. The way you were treated by those trainers was quite horrible and incredibly wrong," Thor tells him, pulling the little boy close in his arms, "We will never treat you in that manner. We love you far too much to ever harm you."

They sit there in the living room for over an hour, holding the boys and reassuring them countless times that they are loved and cared for. That no one will ever hurt them again. That they are part of a family. When it starts to grow dark outside, Thor makes them all dinner. They watch and make sure Steve and Tony clean their plates, then take them to their room. Tony takes the top bunk with Steve in the bottom, and once they are tucked under the covers, they fall asleep almost instantly.

***

The next morning, Natasha rises early and finds Clint missing from their bed. It doesn't surprise her. She'd had a restless night herself, her sleep filled with nightmares. She can hear the dull thunk of someone hitting Steve's punching bag, and quickly slips into her workout clothes to go and join him. As she heads for the door, she notices Steve sleeping on the floor at the foot of her bed. He wakes when she touches his shoulder and quickly kneels in front of her.

"Can I assist you Miss?"

"Steve, honey, why are you sleeping here? Did you have a nightmare? You know you can wake me up if something is wrong," she says, placing a hand on his shoulder and mentally cursing herself for not noticing that he'd slipped into the room at some point.

"Nothing is wrong Miss. I simply wanted to be available in case you or Master Clint required service during the night. Would you have preferred my brother? He is in Master Thor's room."

She sighs and helps him stand.

"Steve, you don't need to sleep on the floor. You have a nice soft bed that's just for you. I'm sure you were probably trained to sleep at the foot of the bed, but remember that your training is wrong."

"Yes, Miss. I apologize for causing you inconvenience."

"You didn't inconvenience me, sweetheart," she gives him a small hug and leads him out of the bedroom.

Thor comes out of his room at the same time she does, carrying a confused Tony in his arms.

"I believe I shall attempt to make some of the Captain's famous pancakes for breakfast. How does this sound?" Thor asks, setting Tony on the ground.

"Sounds fantastic," Natasha agrees, smiling when the boys gravitate towards each other, "I'll go get Clint and let him know."

She heads for the gym while Thor takes the two boys in hand and leads them into the kitchen. Clint is standing in front of the adult Steve's punching bag going to town on it, wailing away in anger. Instead of interrupting him immediately, she takes a seat on the weight bench and waits for him to calm down enough to talk to her. He senses her presence, but doesn't turn to look at her. After a few more minutes of furious punching, he stops and steadies the bag.

"They're four," he says with no preamble.

"I know."

"Four years old and they think their only purpose in life is to be slaves. How could _anyone_ do that to a _child_?"

"I don't know, Clint. But we can't give up on them."

"I'm not going to give up on them," he counters hotly, "I just can't... if we'd gotten to them sooner, hadn't split up the team, waited for SHIELD back up. I just keep running all the what ifs in my head and hoping this is some sort of demented nightmare."

"I know," she says, standing and going to stand behind him, running her arms around him, "I've been doing the same. But we can't keep dwelling on it. They need our help right now. God willing Bruce and the others will find a way to turn them back quickly, but in the mean time... we have two scared little boys to take care of and teach to be kids again. And I need your help."

He turns in her arms and holds her tightly. They've never been a conventional couple. Their relationship has stayed mostly in the bedroom, but these are trying circumstances and they both need the physical comfort.

"Thor's making pancakes," she says after a moment, "Should we go get some before he eats them all?"

Clint laughs and she can feel the sound reverberate through her body.

"We better. That man could eat a grocery store and still be hungry."

***

"I think the alien regression technology didn't work perfectly," Natasha tells Bruce when she calls him from Tony's office later that day.

"What do you mean? All the tests indicate that their bodies are four years old," Bruce asks, confused, and she can still hear the repressed anger in his voice.

"The way they talk. I suppose some of it might be the training they under went, but their minds seem much more mature than those of four year olds," she says. She looks at the security feed of the living room and sighs sadly when the boys slide off the couch where Clint put them and kneel back on the floor. "If it was just Tony I would chalk it up to his natural genius, but Steve seems more mature as well. Maybe their minds didn't regress as far as their bodies did?"

"It's a possibility. I'll have JARVIS run some silent tests on them to see if I can verify it. How are they doing otherwise?"

"It's slow going. We still haven't been able to convince them they aren't slaves. You would think they'd understand it after being told forty or fifty different times."

"I have a thought about that," Bruce informs her, and she can hear the shuffling of papers in the background, "Their blood work came back and there's a strange substance we can't identify. It looks like they might have been drugged."

"Can you neutralize it?" Natasha asks worriedly.

"By the time we figure out a way to neutralize it, it should have already worked its way out of their systems, but until it does, it might be harder to convince them their training is wrong. Once the effects wear off, they should start having independent thoughts again, and understanding what happened. Though that might be a whole new problem in and of itself."

"We'll keep an eye on them. Let me know if you need another blood draw and I'll send one up."

"Will do. And if you need me, or learn anything else new, let me know," Bruce says, already turning back to his work.

"I will. You focus on turning them back, we'll handle things down here."

***

"Miss Natasha?" Steve asks that night over dinner, "May I ask a question?"

"Of course, Steve. What would you like to know?" Natasha sets down her fork and gives the small boy her full attention.

Steve looks at Tony for reassurance, and the adults can see Tony move his hand under the table to hold Steve's.

"Why did you give us new names?"

There's a moment of silence which has seemed to follow every question or revelation from the two boys, but the adults are getting better at recovering from the shock of their tiny friend's words.

"We didn't give you new names, honey. Those are the names you've always had. What did you think your names were?" Natasha asks, knowing that the last thing she wants to hear is the answer.

"Our trainers said my name was one zero four nine six, and my brother's name is one zero four nine five. But you call us Steve and Tony. Why?"

With all that has happened in the last couple of days, Natasha thought she had finally reached the end of her ability to be shocked. But Steve's revelation shows her otherwise.

"Steve, do you... do you remember anything from before you were with those trainers?"

"No, Miss. I'm sorry."

"Steve, do you remember when we said we are your family?" Clint asks suddenly, voice muffled with emotion.

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, those trainers took you away from us. They erased your memories and made you forget who you were and who we are. Then they did all those horrible things to you. We didn't give you new names. Your names are Steven and Anthony. And we are so happy to have you back home where you belong."

***

Thankfully, both boys remain in their room that night, though they do end up both sleeping in the bottom bunk together. After breakfast, they sit the boys on the couch to watch a movie, (JARVIS chooses "Brave" this time,) and the team convenes in the gym for a meeting.

"Bruce called early this morning. He needs some more blood samples brought up to the hellicarrier," Natasha informs them.

"I'll take them up," Clint offers.

"No. I'm going," Natasha says firmly, her voice broking no argument, "You haven't slept since we brought them home and are in no state to be flying the jet."

Clint winces at her statement but can't argue. He's taken tiny cat naps here and there, but has spent most of his time either in the gym or on the roof staring out into the darkness.

"I believe I shall return to Asgard to see if my people can be of any assistance in tracking down the ones who took our friends. I shall return by the end of the day," Thor informs them.

"Good idea. I shouldn't be on the carrier too long. Clint, can you handle watching them for a few hours?" Natasha asks her partner.

Clint sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

"Considering that they're terrified of being disobedient, they shouldn't be too much trouble. Just don't be gone longer than you have to."

"We won't. And if something happens, just call me and I'll head back immediately," Natasha promises him.

"If you need me to return, call out to Heimdall, I shall leave at once," Thor agrees.

Natasha quickly collects the required blood samples, and the boys don't so much as flinch when she sticks them with the needle. Thor pulls Mjolnir from the vault and they both leave in short order.

Clint stands in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room watching the boys watch their movie. They're still kneeling on the floor, but they no longer protest about not being useful. It's progress at least. He can feel his body straining against his exhaustion, but he welcomes the feeling. As long as he's been an operative, and for even much longer than that, the only way he's been able to deal with emotional overload, is to work himself ragged until he collapses. He doesn't sleep, he barely eats, and he trains constantly. After three or four days his body finally gives up the fight, and he falls into an almost catatonic sleep for half a day. When we wakes, he always feels better and ready to handle whatever new horrors the world has decided to throw at him. He can tell he's close to a collapse, but knows it can wait until Thor and Natasha return.

As he stands there, he hears a distinctive growling sound coming from the living room, and sees Tony curl around himself trying to stop the noise. Steve's stomach echoes the sentiment. Clint curses himself for not watching them more closely, as they probably didn't eat much for breakfast. Checking his watch, Clint decides it's the perfect time for lunch.

"Hey boys. I'm going to make some grilled cheese and tomato soup. Would you like some?"

The boys give each other identical looks of worry, but both nod when they see no anger in Clint's face.

"Cool. Come into the kitchen and you can help me whip it up."

They jump up from the floor and rush to the kitchen, eager to be helpful. They take seats at the bar, and Clint pulls out bread and sliced cheese, putting them to work buttering the bread and putting the cheese on. They are quick and efficient, and in no time the soup is ready and the sandwiches are golden and crispy. The boys devour them with fervor, intrigued when Clint tells them about dipping the sandwich in the soup.

Once the meal is over and the boys have helped him do the dishes, they settle down on the floor to watch another movie. Clint tries to convince them to sit on the couch with him, but they decline unsurprisingly. Clint spreads out on the couch and within five minutes of watching "Finding Nemo" his exhaustion catches up to him and he is fast asleep, dead to the world.

***

He wakes slowly from a pleasant dream. He and Natasha have finally had a chance to go on a real vacation and they are lying on the beach slowly exploring each others bodies. Her hands feel like heaven as they roam his chest and slip lower, sliding down his zipper and pulling his half hard and very interested cock out of his pants. The soft silk of her skin brings him to full arousal quickly, her knowledge of his body evident. She leans down and gently licks the underside of his shaft.

The sensation brings him to full wakefulness and he looks down his body to find, not Natasha as he was expecting, but Steve and Tony, holding his hard cock. Steve smiles and leans back down to lick him again, but is stopped suddenly when Clint pushes them off of him and vaults over the back of the couch slamming into the wall in his haste to get away.

"What the fuck was that?!" Clint screams at the boys.

They stand quickly and assume the 'punishment' position, fear evident in their faces.

"We are terribly sorry Master Clint. We simply wished to thank you for making such delicious food and letting us be useful to you," Tony explains quietly, standing up a little straighter, "We did not mean to offend. Perhaps you would prefer the use of our other holes. We are experienced enough to provide..."

"STOP!" Clint shouts at the top of his lungs, "Stop talking, right now."

Tony immediately shuts his mouth and his body trembles a bit in anticipation of punishment. They both stand ramrod straight and look at the floor.

Clint stands flattened against the wall breathing hard, his brain struggling to catch up with the situation and failing. He zips himself back up, now completely flaccid, and pulls out his phone speed dialing Natasha's number. She picks up on the second ring.

"Clint. Is everything..."

"Hi honey. Do you think you'll be home soon?"

Years and years ago, when they first became partners, Clint and Natasha had decided that the best code word for them would be 'honey.' Since neither of them would ever say it to the other under normal circumstances, it was perfect. Over the many missions they've run together, it's been used to mean anything from, 'I've been compromised' to 'request immediate evac.'

Natasha's blood runs cold at the code word and the tone in Clint's voice, and she immediately knows that something is terribly, horribly wrong.

"I'll be there as fast as the jet can fly. Hold tight Clint. I'm coming."

Clint hangs up the phone and slips it back into his pocket. Then he slides to the floor and pulls his knees close, burying his head between them and sobbing quietly.


	3. Turning Point

Natasha runs through the hellicarrier, taking every shortcut she knows to get to the jet.

"JARVIS," she says into her com, "Get the jet started and get us in the air as soon as I'm on board."

"Yes, ma'am."

She shoves a few agents out of her way as she spies the jet. It lifts off the ground the moment she's inside and takes off, presumably without authorization. She'll get an earful from Fury later, but at the moment she doesn't care. Something has happened at home, and the tone she'd heard in Clint's voice is one she's only heard one other time. After the dust had settled from the battle in New York, she had found him in his room drinking himself into a coma, blaming himself for all the people and agents lost while he was under Loki's control. He sounded the same way then as he did now. Broken.

She looks up at the ceiling of the jet and yells as loudly as she can.

"Heimdall! We need Thor now! Something's happened! Please!"

She hopes the all seeing guardian hears her, then turns back to the controls and pushes the jet even faster.

The jet lands at the mansion in record time, and she jumps out before they've even finished landing, trusting JARVIS to stow the plane safely. She rushes into the living room to find Steve and Tony standing in their 'punishment' position, feet shoulder width apart and hands clasped tightly behind their backs, staring at the floor. It takes her another second to find Clint. When she does, her heart nearly breaks.

He is sitting with his back against the far wall, knees pulled up to his chest, shoulders shaking slightly as he rocks back and forth. She rushes to him and takes one of his wrists, checking his pulse. His heart rate is a bit fast, but well within normal. He looks up at her when she touches him and there are tear streaks down his face. She lays a palm on his cheek, searching his eyes for the cause of his distress.

"Clint, what happened? Were you attacked?"

He starts to shake his head then stops, but doesn't nod either. His blue gray eyes are pleading as he looks up at her.

"Tell me this isn't real. Tell me it's a bad dream. That I'll wake up. Please," his voice is broken and hopeless as he begs her for a reprieve from what ever horror has shaken him.

"Clint. You have to tell me what happened. I can't help if I don't know the situation," she tries to reason with him.

"I can't. The rest I could deal with, but this... not this. Anything but this."

Realizing that she won't be able to get any answers out of him until she can take the time to calm him down, she turns to the two boys who haven't moved at all since she came through the door. She is terrified to find out what they might have said or done that would shake Clint so badly, and the answer dances in the back of her mind but she can't dare to think it. She goes and kneels in front of them, gently urging them to look at her.

"Steve. Tony. Can you tell me what happened?" She keeps her voice calm and gentle despite the circumstances, not wanting to make what ever problem has arisen worse.

Tony squares his shoulders and answers her question.

"Master Clint made us some food and allowed us to assist in its preparation and clean up. We were grateful for the chance to be useful, as we have not done anything of use since you brought us here, and we wished to convey our appreciation by servicing him. Our trainers taught us many different methods of sexually pleasuring our Masters using our holes, though we aren't very experienced yet. When we tried to service Master Clint, he pushed us away. He ordered us not to speak and we have been awaiting our punishment. We did not mean to displease him."

Natasha finds that she very suddenly has to sit. She drops to the floor and feels her calm resolve crumple, her heart shattering. Clint's words echo in her head. _Anything but this_. She looks up at her friends, her young innocent friends, and the anger and pain well inside her.

"No, please," she pleads with the silence of the room in a near silent whisper, "Not this."

After a moment of trying to get her emotions under control and failing, she tells Tony and Steve to go to their room, an order they immediately obey. The rational part of her mind tells her she should comfort them, should hold them close and tell them everything is going to be okay, but her emotions have a much stronger hold on her, and she knows there will only be regret later if they stay. Mind numb with pain, she stands and goes to the nearest wall, punching a hole right through it.

Thor arrives mere seconds later, Mjolnir at the ready, but he drops it immediately when he sees the scene before him. Clint is still sitting against the wall rocking back and forth slightly, and Natasha has managed to put five holes into the wall, her hands bleeding from the effort. He goes to her and puts a hand on her shoulder, accepting her into his arms when she turns and buries her head in his chest, tears running down her face. Her voice is quiet and stilted as she tells him what the boys did and what they had been forced to learn to do. He pulls her closer and slowly lowers them both to the floor, his own tears wetting her hair, and the room is filled with the sound of quiet sobs as all three of them silently fall to pieces.

***

Sometime later, when they've recovered from the shock and devastation of learning what happened to their young teammates, they are standing in the living room trying to decide what to do next. None of them have spoken to the boys since the incident, and they know they should, but they can't figure out what to say. After several minutes of awkward silence, Natasha turns to Clint.

"Are you okay?"

"My four year old teammates just tried to blow me in thanks for making them a grilled cheese sandwich and letting them do the dishes. I'm fucking fantastic, thanks," he snaps at her, kicking the back of the couch he's been pacing behind.

"How are we to handle this?" Thor asks, "They are expecting a punishment. How are we to make sure this sort of thing never happens again while also keeping from frightening them?"

"I don't know. This is so far outside the realm of anything I've ever dealt with," Natasha answers staring at the ground, "Maybe it's time to call in a professional."

"We just found out they were raped and trained to be sex slaves and you want to bring in a stranger?!" Clint practically shouts at her.

"Clint, I don't know how to handle this. I don't know what to say or what to do to make this better, make this right. I barely had a clue when we were just dealing with physical abuse!"

"We must do something, but I agree with Clint that now is not the time to involve a stranger," Thor interrupts before the argument turns into a shouting match, "We are their family and they are ours, we must handle this ourselves."

Clint kicks the back of the couch again, and Natasha runs her hands through her hair, pulling on it.

"We have to tell them what they did was wrong, but not because they are bad, but because they were taught bad things by evil people. That's the only thing I can think of," Natasha says, sounding unconvinced of her own plan.

"If they felt so useless that just being allowed to do dishes made them that grateful, then maybe we should let them help with chores. Let them take the garbage out, or help fold the laundry. Real kids in a real family are expected to help with things like that," Clint suggests after a deep breath, "We need to do things with them, play with them. So far all we've done is set them in front of the TV."

"I agree with these assessments. But first we must speak with them," Thor reminds the group.

Clint and Natasha both nod in agreement and Thor heads to their bedroom. A few moments later he returns, Steve and Tony walking obediently behind him. They enter the room and resume standing in their 'punishment' stance.

"Steve. Tony. Come here please," Natasha says, taking a seat on the couch and waving them over.

They walk over to her silently and stand in front of her, heads bowed. Clint takes a seat next to her and Thor does the same.

"First of all, you aren't going to be punished for what happened today, do you understand?" Natasha informs them.

Both heads jerk up and stare at her in confusion.

"But we did something bad. We offended Master Clint!" Tony protests, his eyes darting between the three of them.

"What you did wasn't right, but those men who took you made you think it was. It isn't your fault," she adds, taking one of each of their hands in her own, "You are not slaves, and if you are grateful for something, you say thank you. There will be no more servicing, or attempted servicing of anyone in this house, or of anyone ever. It's inappropriate and wrong. But you will _not_ be punished. However, I need you to promise me that you will never do it again. Can you do that?"

They both nod furiously, though their confusion is still evident on their faces. They both turn to Clint and bow their heads solemnly.

"We're sorry for upsetting you Master Clint," Steve says, and Tony reiterates the statement.

"It's alright. You didn't know any better," he responds, taking Steve's other hand and smiling at them as best as he can under the circumstances.

Natasha stands and gives them both a kiss on the top of the head, then ushers them into the kitchen to have them help her make some dinner. It's a simple meal consisting of a prepackaged frozen stir-fry and some boil in bag rice, but it suffices, and the boys are more than happy to help clean up when they're finished eating.

After dinner, they sit and watch a movie, ('The Incredibles' this time,) and Tony sits on the couch next to Natasha while Steve is pulled into Thor's lap. Natasha gives them both a bath after the movie, and they quickly settle into bed.

When she returns from tucking them in, Clint's face is drawn and he looks a little sick.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asks, worried that there was something else about what happened that he wasn't able to share.

"Who's gonna tell Bruce?"

***

In the end Natasha and Thor end up heading back to the hellicarrier to tell Bruce in person. He doesn't lose his control, but instead collapses in tears of his own at the thought of his best friend being tortured in such a manner. They stay with him for a few hours until he's calm enough to be left on his own. 

Fury calls Natasha as soon as they arrive back at the mansion and chews her ear off for not only leaving without authorization from air control, but for almost unleashing the Hulk on his ship again, but she knows it's just for show. She can hear in his voice that Bruce has told him what they'd found out, and that he's just as upset as they are.

She slips into bed that night and is pleased to find that Clint has joined her. She pulls him close and they lose themselves in each other, chasing away the memory of what happened with pleasurable touches and passionate kisses. They fall asleep spent and wrapped in each other's arms.

***

"Mister Barton. Miss Romanoff. You must wake up," JARVIS's voice comes through the speaker in their room sometime around four in the morning, waking them both from a sound sleep.

"JARVIS? What's wrong?" Natasha asks, blinking until her vision clears.

"Young Tony temporarily disabled my security features from the panel in his room. When I came back online they were gone."

Clint and Natasha both jump out of bed and race down the hall to the boys' bedroom, flinging the door open. Both beds are empty, and there are several sets of clothes missing from the pile on the dresser. Thor comes up behind them, breathing heavily, having obviously received the same message from JARVIS.

"JARVIS," Natasha says, terror filling her voice, "Find them. I don't care how many laws you have to break. Find them."

***

"Brother, where are we going?" Steve asks as he and Tony wander down the long winding road that leads to Avengers Mansion.

"I don't know, brother. But we had to get out of there," Tony answers readjusting the bag on his back, "What we did was wrong, remember?"

"But the lady said they weren't going to punish us for..."

"She was lying!" Tony yells at his small blonde companion, "Don't you see that? They're just saying those things to earn our trust. We mean nothing to them! And as soon as we believe them, they'll hurt us, just like the others did. We're better off on our own, where no one can hurt us ever again."

"They're bad people aren't they?" Steve asks, slipping his hand into Tony's as they walk.

"That video we saw..." Tony nods, "They kill people, hurt people. That's what they do. And they'll do the same to us. Especially now that we've made them angry."

When they reach the main road they pick a random direction and walk for what seems like hours. They hide every time a car passes them, which isn't often given the hour and the remote location. After quite some time, they reach a small gas station and take the little amount of money they were able to steal from a drawer in one of the bedrooms, and buy several granola bars and two bottles of gatorade. The cashier gives them a curious look, but sells them the food anyway and they head back out into the night. A few minutes later a car quietly pulls up behind them, and a man in a blue uniform gets out.

"Hey there boys. What are two such young kids like you doing out so late at night? Where are your parents?"

Recognizing the holstered weapon at the man's side, Tony holds his brother's hand tighter.

"Hello Sir. My brother and I are just going out for a walk. Our parents know where we are. They're going to meet us a little later," Tony answers, hoping his face doesn't show how terrified he is and give away the lie.

"Are they now? Well, how about you two come with me and we can meet them down at the station? It's dangerous out here and I wouldn't want you two getting hurt. I'm sure your parents wouldn't like that either."

Unable to come up with any excuse or another reason not to follow the man, and knowing they won't make it very far if they try to run, Tony and Steve get in the back of the man's car. They hold each other's hands tightly, afraid of where they're going, and what will happened to them when they get there.

***

"Where would they go? Why did they run away?" Clint asks, burying his head in his hands.

"Fear maybe?" Natasha suggests, hands typing away at the large portable table top computer she'd pulled from Tony's office, "They were really scared when we talked to them," she makes a few more adjustments to the search parameters, and lets the algorithm do its work, "What ever drug they were dosed with might have worn off and they decided to make a run for it while our guard was down."

It's been hours since the boys ran away and JARVIS woke the rest of the team, and so far they haven't been able to find the lost boys. They thought they'd found heat signatures leaving the mansion, but the nights have been so hot and muggy it's interfering with JARVIS's satellite sensors. Having tiny targets doesn't help either.

"Facial recognition match, 83%," JARVIS's voice interrupts their stipulating, "A gas station near the mansion. The cashier called the local police to report two young boys, unattended, purchasing food and drinks."

"Where the hell did they get money?" Clint demands surprised.

"Tony keeps spare cash in his room, just incase," Natasha informs him, "They must have found it. Did the local PD respond?"

"Affirmative. An Officer Warrington brought in two boys matching the young sirs description not five minutes ago. Shall I inform the police department that you are on your way?"

"Yes, JARVIS. And get the car ready."

***

They arrive at the police station at nearly eight in the morning, exhausted and frazzled. Natasha and Clint flash their SHIELD badges, which JARVIS has assured them are still active, and the cop at the desk takes them into an interrogation room in the back. The boys are sitting at the table holding hands and looking incredibly terrified. When they see the three adults enter, the looks of fear intensify and they huddle closer together. As soon as JARVIS assures them that the surveillance equipment is down, Natasha and Clint take seats opposite the boys while Thor stands in one of the corners near the door, close enough to catch them if they try to run, but not so close that he's blocking the exit.

"You two scared us, running away like that," Clint says calmly, keeping his expression kind, "Why did you do that?"

The two boys stare silently at them, refusing to answer.

"Steve. Tony. Let's go home. It's been a long night and I'm sure you're tired. We can talk about this in the morning," Natasha offers, pushing her chair back to stand.

"We're not going with you!" Tony shouts suddenly, startling the team, "You're killers and bad guys, just like the men that took us!"

"Tony, what are you talking about?" Natasha asks, settling back into her chair, confused.

"We saw the video on the TV. You use weapons to kill people, lots of people, all the time! We saw it! The TV said you almost destroyed the whole city!"

The room is silent for a brief moment. Clint and Thor turn their faces away from the accusation, and Natasha closes her eyes for a moment, sparing a moment to wonder how they got their hands on footage from the battle of New York, before opening her green eyes and meeting Tony's dark ones.

"You're right. We do kill people. But we don't do it because we want to. We do it because someone has to be there to keep the world safe from the men who want to destroy it. That's our job. Sometimes it's awful, and innocent people like you get hurt, but believe me, we aren't the bad guys, and we will never let anything happen to you."

"Then why are you keeping us around, huh? Are we your pets? We just sit there and look pretty? You barely let us do anything but sleep and watch the TV. Or did you buy us to use as practice dummies when you design a new weapon? Or to use as bait for the people you're fighting? What are we to you?!" Tony screams, standing in his chair and leaning over the table at them.

"You are our family," Thor answers, bringing over another chair and sitting next to Natasha, "And we are... were yours. You are Anthony and Steven. And our family is not complete without you in it."

Shocked by the honest admission, and the heartfelt emotion in Thor's words, Steve and Tony are speechless for a moment. Then Steve raises his head and looks at them.

"If we're your family, why did you let those men take us?"

Natasha wipes a tear from her cheek, and Clint holds out the hand he'd injured while they were trying to recover their lost friends. It's an angry jagged line that stands out starkly against his pale skin. The boys stare at the injury in shock, then look to him for an explanation, and see tears running down his face, his voice cracking with emotion when he speaks.

"We didn't let them. They took you away from us, and we fought to get you back the entire time they had you. We never gave up, and we're not giving up now. You two give us hope, make us feel like we belong somewhere. You are the light in this dark world that reminds us why we do what we do. We love you so much, no words can describe it. When we learned what those men did to you... it broke our hearts. We failed you. We didn't get to you fast enough and those men... they did horrible, terrible things to you. And that's all our fault. We are so, so sorry. Can you ever forgive us?"

"You really love us?" Tony asks in disbelief.

"More than anything in the world," Clint assures him, wiping away his tears.

Tony climbs up on the table and crawls across it, jumping into Clint's arms and sobbing into his neck.

"We were so scared! We begged and begged and did everything they said, but they still hurt us!"

"I know, I know. We won't ever let them hurt you ever again," Clint whispers into the dark hair, holding his small friend tightly.

Steve crawls across the table and lands in Natasha's lap, hugging her just as tightly and crying into her shirt.

"We're sorry we ran away. We didn't mean to scare you," Steve sobs.

"Sshhh. The important thing is that you're safe now," she says, petting his hair and continuing to whisper small comforting nothings to him.

Thor stands and goes behind them, pulling all four of them into a hug. They sit there for several minutes just holding each other tightly, then Tony lifts his head from Clint's neck.

"Can we go home now?"

"Absolutely," Clint smiles at him.

They stand, Clint and Natasha each carrying one of the boys and head out to the car, ignoring the curious glances from the collected cops at the station.

On the way home the boys both yawn hugely and Thor makes an executive decision that everyone is going back to bed as soon as they get home. Steve and Tony balk at having to sleep alone, so when they get back home, Clint and Thor move all the furniture out of the living room and pull in two king size mattresses and every blanket and pillow in the house and make a giant sleeping fort. Thor settles in the middle with one boy on each side and Clint and Natasha take the outside positions. JARVIS puts on 'Fantasia' and they all settle down and are asleep in no time, happy to be back together as a family.


	4. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys.
> 
> I know. It's been over a year since I updated this story. And I'm afraid this chapter is woefully short. But I have finally felt like writing again, after so much writer's block and life getting in the way. So, I know it's short, but I hope you still like it. I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't abandoned this story. I still fully intend on finishing it. And there is still darkness yet to come.

_ He blinks as he wakes from a half waking dream. The room around him is dark, just like it always is. He can feel another body pressed up close to him, a hand twined into the fabric of his shirt. His eyes dart from one dark corner of the room to another, searching for what woke him. There is no loud screeching that would indicate an alarm, no cracked door… nothing. The room is dark and completely silent. _

 

_ Then he feels it. A hand on his knee, sliding up… higher… higher… _

 

***

 

“Come on, Tony. You’re safe. You’re going to be just fine. Stay with me.” Tasha gently comforts the boy lying beside her. She readjusts the pillow under his head and wipes his mouth with a corner of the blanket. A large convulsion shakes through his tiny frame and she holds him a bit tighter.

 

He’d begun thrashing in his sleep just after noon and woken them from their exhausted sleep. His eyes are hooded and unfocused, his little body trembling and spasming as though he’s having a seizure. Steve is huddled in Thor’s arms, watching with terror in his eyes as Tasha gently holds Tony’s arm by his side to prevent him from striking either himself or her.

 

Clint sprints into the room with their emergency medical kit, ripping it open and digging through the contents while yelling into the phone in his other hand.

 

“I don’t know what caused it, Strange! Just tell me how to stop it!”

 

“We have to check if he has a temperature first,” comes the brisk reply from the doctor, “But don’t put anything into his mouth. Use the forehead thermometer. It looks like a…”

 

“I know what it looks like!” Clint hurls into the phone angrily. Normally he doesn’t mind dealing with Stephen’s attitude and temperament, but learning of the true horrors and tortures Steve and Tony had endured by being sexually assaulted by his four year old friends, and then being up half the night trying to find them when they’d run away in fear has him a bit… lacking in the patience department. He finds the thermometer, kneels down, and runs it gently across Tony’s forehead. “100.6.”

 

“That’s a little high, but not high enough to cause the seizure. How long has he been seizing?” Stephen asks quickly.

 

Clint looks to Natasha knowing she’s heard the question, and she holds up two fingers.

 

“Two minutes.”

 

“Okay, normally seizures will stop on their own after about three to five minutes. But we’ve been digging into the drug they were dosed with, and it should be completely out of their systems now. Considering the complexity of the drug, and their long exposure to it, it’s possible that…”

 

“Strange! I don’t care about the science right now! Just tell me what the hell is going on and how to stop it, in as few words as possible!” Clint practically shouts into the phone.

 

“He’s going through withdrawls. It’s likely the seizure won’t stop without medication. The mansion has a store of emergency pharmaceuticals. You need a sterile needle, and a drug called Diazepam. The liquid form.” Stephen answers quickly, unphased by Clint’s tone.

 

Clint jumps back up and darts down the hall, leaping down the stairs in two strides. JARVIS has already unlocked and opened the large medicine cabinet in Bruce’s lab, and Clint finds what he’s looking for quickly. He grabs a packaged syringe from the drawer and heads back up the stairs. He listens carefully to Strange’s directions on dosage, but his hands start to shake a bit when he’s told he needs to pull down Tony’s pants to give him the injection. The doctor hears his hesitation.

 

“Clint. I know this is hard. But the only other ways to give him the medicine are either too risky on someone that small, or won’t start acting fast enough. The gluteus muscles are the best place to do it, and it will be the least painful once he comes around.”

 

Clint feels a hand cover his, and Thor takes the fragile hypodermic out of his hand, along with the phone, sliding Steve into Clint’s lap simultaneously. With Natasha’s help, he carefully turns Tony onto his side, and gently lowers the boy’s pants and briefs just enough to reach where he needs. Then he holds the phone to his ear.

 

“I shall be administering this medicine to young Tony,” Thor informs Strange, his voice making it obvious that this isn’t up for debate, “How do I proceed?”

 

After a few seconds to adjust to the new situation, Stephen walks Thor through the process. Thor carefully uses an iodine wipe on Tony’s skin to sanitize it, then Natasha braces the small boy firmly while Thor swiftly and effectively injects him with the medicine. Clint holds Steve close, rocking slightly to try and calm both of them, while Thor softly massages the injection site, working the medication into the muscle tissue to speed up its absorption.

 

For a few minutes no one dares to breathe while they wait to see if it will work. Slowly, Tony’s spasms begin to still and his breathing equals out. Natasha loosens her grip on the small frame, bringing her hand up to brush damp brown hair away from the boy’s eyes. Now that the seizure has stopped, Natasha scoops Tony into her arms and pulls him close, cradling his head against her chest.

 

Steve leans out of Clint’s arms slightly, reaching out to his brother. Clint lets him down, but moves with him, putting a hand on the brunette’s leg, while Steve takes one of Tony’s hands, silent tears rolling down the blonde's face. Clint gently wraps his arm around Steve’s waist, and leans his cheek against the small boy’s head. Thor replaces the medical equipment, thanks Stephen for his assistance, listening to the doctor’s advice on what to do should it happen again and how to care for him for the next few hours before hanging up. He then takes up a position behind Natasha, letting her lean against him while he places a hand on Tony’s other leg.

 

Tony’s eyes flutter open gently, and fear overwhelms him for a moment as he looks at all the faces around him. Thor gently tightens his grip on Tony’s leg, drawing the boy’s attention to him.

 

“Be still, Tony. You are safe. Your body began to seize while you slept. We have given you some medicine. You will be alright now.” Thor’s voice is low and soft, calming the boy almost instantly.

 

“He’s really gonna be okay?” Steve asks, voice warbling slightly through his tears.

 

Natasha lays her hand over top his where he still holds his brother’s.

 

“Yes,” she promises with a kind smile, “He’s going to be just fine. It might take awhile for you both to recover from the drugs those men gave you, but I  _ promise _ . You are both safe now. We won’t let anything bad happen to you ever again, okay?”

 

Steve nods his head as the tears start to flow faster. He lays his head on Tony’s chest and cries into his brother’s shirt. Tony grips Steve’s hand tightly in his own and lets his own tears fall.

 

They sit in silence just holding the two boys close for nearly an hour, their touches light and comforting, keeping an eye on Steve for any symptoms of withdrawals, and just reminding themselves that they are both safe. So much has happened in the last few days, so many revelations that have broken and shattered their world. And they all know that this is only the beginning of the healing process for their teammates.

 

Thor looks up as the boys quiet and drift back to sleep, and his eyes lock with Clint’s, then move down to meet Natasha’s gaze. With a barely perceptible nod, Tasha pulls Tony a fraction closer, and Clint and Thor tighten their grip on their friends slightly. They know they have a long road ahead of them, and that the worst may be yet to come. But they also know that they are not alone, that they will face this together. They are family. Careful not to jostle the boys and wake them, they once again slip under the covers, curling around Tony and Steve, a silent promise to keep them safe, no matter what happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave a kudo and drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!


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